Water pistol with mechanism which discharges a succession of water shots



W. C. CASSON WATER PISTOL WITH MECHANISM WHICH DISCHARGES NQv. 6, 19512,573,954

A SUCCESSION OF WATER SHOTS 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 Filed July 29, 1950 m QK ll INVENTOR. Wu@ ,m

Nov. 6, 1951 w. c. cAssoN WATER PISTOL WITH MECHANISM WHICH DISCHARGES ASUCCESSION OF' WATER SHOTS 2` sHEETs-SHEET 2 Filed July 29, 1950 1N VENTOR.

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Patented Nov. 6, 1951 WATER PISTOL WITH MECHANISM WHICH DIS'CHARGES ASUCCESSION OF' WATER;

SHOTS Wesley C. Casson, Old Greenwich, Conn.`

Application July 29, 1950 Serial N50. 176,659

1-.4 claims.

This invention relates to liquid discharge de- (CI. Z22- 19) vices andmore particularly to a toyy which ei'- fectsy a plurality o-f'successive shots or discharges of liquid from a single load thereof.

The instant invention provides a toy such as Y a water pistol whichejects a charge of water by a succession of individual shots until thecharge is exhausted. In a preferred embodiment, a hammer is provided by'means of which the mechanism isl cocked, suchy cooking action beingsimultaneously effective in drawing up a new charge of water from areservoir in the pistol body. A particular feature of one aspect of' theinvention is that all the foregoing parts maybe so arranged as to electan extremely accurate simulation of a conventional repeater gun, thatis, a single action 6shot gun with a revolving cylinder. In the Waterpistol described herein, the cylinder does` not revolve-but the action.of the gun otherwise simulates that of the wellknown gun abovementioned.

A further most important feature of the invention is the provision oftrigger mechanism whereby the entire charge. in the cylinder may beejected at. one shot. This is accomplished by disabling the action ofthe hammer in cooking the mechanism for a multiple discharge whilepermitting Vthe, hammer to swing back of its own accord after havingbeen drawn in cooking position. Among other advantages, such mechanismenables the operator to perform a. so-called tanning action. Thisaction4 is. spectacularly employed by cowboys or the like and is highlyregarded by children as their imitators. One fansA a gun by striking thepalm of the. hand against the hammer permitting it to return by itselfinstead of. by actuation of the trigger. When the, water pistol of theinstant invention isv tanned, it will discharge an entire cylinder loadof liquid in one. stream so as to produce a comparative drenching of thetarget. Thus, two. optional and alternative methods of operation are.provided.` Therst, a multiple discharge. in a series of shots, and thesecond, a single stream of iluid comprising all the shots in thecylinderat onetime. Preparation or cooking of the ham-mer for either type ofoperation draws upa supply of water and the action 'may be con-l tinueduntil the reservoir or chamber is eX-A hausted. In a working modeL, thereservoir was formed in theI handle or butt of the gun and containedabout fl charges, each of which could be ejected as asingle charge, orin six individual and successi-ve shots. Thus,4v about 300 individual.

2i shots could be secured, or full streams, or combinations of thev two,as desired.

The above is a general description of the operation andform of the waterpistol, but the invention will be further understood from the followingdescription and drawings lin which:

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section of the water pistol at thecompletion of the cylinder discharge and before cooking to rell thecylinder and repeat the discharge thereof.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. l and illustrating the cooking of thetrigger mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional' view takenalong the lines 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4`4 ofFig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-,sectional viewy taken along the lines 5-5of Fig. 4".

y Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional View taken along the lines 5-6 of Fig.2'.. y

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines l-'l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 8-8 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is. a cross-sectional view taken. along,l the lines 9-9 of. Fig.2.

Fig. 10I is` a cross-sectional view taken along the lines l Il-lll ofFig. 2.

The frame or casing. of the water pistol is formed of two substantiallysimilar halves, each of which may be molded or otherwise formed ofsuitable material, whether of plastic' or metal, or the like. Thus, thehalf t5 may bev produced of plastic in a, suitable molding machine, andit, together with the half I6, housesr mostr of' the operatingmechanism. Minor diiierences ofA form exist. in the respective: halvesas will be discerned from the drawings herein, but in general, thehalves are substantially identical.l The handle or butt` il, which islformed when both halves are assembled, provides a reservoir I8 for Wateror other desired liquid I9.. A wall 26- defines the. upperA end of thelreservoir or chamber i8. A tube 2|.` extends from thelowermost portionof chamber i8 to a valve arrangement for charging the cylinder as willhereinafter be made' clear. A plug 22v nts intoA an opening inthe,chamber le which permits rel-ling of the chamber with water. Plug 22 maybe formedr of rubber, soft. plastic, or like material and: is providedwith a. stem 231 and enlarged end 24 to permit' refilling Withoutcomplete removal of the plug and accordingly guarding against. l'oss ordiss placement thereof.

Body half' I (t is provided with a.I simulated ejec- 3 tor body 3D whichmay be cemented or otherwise secured in position. Body 30 is U-shaped incross-section and houses intake tube 3| and intake valve body 32. Valvebody 32 is formed with a bore 33 enclosing valve spring 34 and ballcheck valve 35.

Valve body 32 is integral with cylinder body 40 which is secured withinthe forepart of the gun barrel 4 I. The bottom of barrel 4| is formedwith a slot 38 through which the valve body 32 protrudes so that it maybe housed in the simulated ejector body 38.

When the cylinder body is formed of a plastic substance, `it may -be 4the lug 82 is at the top of arcuate slot 83. This is shown in Fig. 1.

A pawl 86 is formed integrally with trigger piece 88. Pawl 83 actuatesthe teeth 81 of rack bar or arm 88 as will hereinafter be explained. Thenormal function of spring 85 is to draw the pawl 86 out of contact withteeth 81, while contact and actuation of the teeth iseffected againstthe operation of spring 85 when the operators iinger is pressed againstthe trigger piece.

Rack bar or arm 88 is formed with a yoked end 83 which embraces pin 11so that the rack bar is guided in astraight line movement. The

" front end of rack bar 88 is turned up to form lug or front end ofcylinder body 48 forms the charge chamber 43 which communicates withbore 33 through a port 44. Thus, as water is drawn up through tube 3|and through the intake valve, as will be hereinafter described, it willll the chamber 43 to be thereafter discharged therefrom.

An outlet valve tube '50 is integrally formed with cylinder body 40.Tube 50 is formed with a central bore 5| enclosing valve spring 52 andball check Valve 53. The function of valve spring 52, like that of othervalve spring 34, is to urge the respective ball valves into their seatsand into valve closing position. End piece 55 is fitted over the valvetube 58 and it also forms an enclosing wall 56 for the front or innerend of valve body 32. A metallic nozzle 51, which may be of brass orsimilar material; is screw-threaded into the forepart of end piece 55,such metallic nozzle being useful in preventing and excluding anyobstruction in the Water discharge path. f

Cylinder body 48 houseszthe piston or plunger which may be formed ofmetal disks or washers 68 and 8| enclosing a felt disk 82. These disksare assembled over'piston rod 33 and-.are pressed into position bypiston spring 64 which also serves as the piston actuating spring.

The operating mechanism includes a xed frame member which supports theltrigger elements. Frame 18 is of metal and includes an integral channelsection 1I which extends into the barrel 4I and embraces piston rod 63.A cup 12 is assembled, cupped side lforward, around the channel section1|, being supported against rearward movement by intermediate edges 13of frame 10. Cup 12 both supports the frame 18 where it enters thebarrel 4| and further serves as a rear seat for the piston spring 64.

lReferring to Fig. 3, it will be observed that the body halves I5 and I6are respectively formed with integral bosses 15 and 18 which jointlysupport xed pin 11. The rear extremity of frame 18 is connected to pin11 so that the frame is immovable relative to the pistol body. Frame 18movably supports the trigger piece v8|) by integral, inwardly bent lugs8| and 82 of the frame 10 which are movably held in slots of the triggerpiece. Thus, trigger piece 80 is provided with an'arcuate slot 83wherein lug 8-2 rides, and it is further provided with a trapezoidalshaped slot 84 in which lug 8| rides. As a result of such suspension oftrigger piece 80, it is aorded a pivotal action wherein slot 83 dictatesthe initial pivotal movement of the trigger piece preliminary to anindividual shot discharge while slot 84 controls the subsequentsubstantially downward movement of the trigger piece in completing theshot. A coil spring 85 normally'maintains trigger piece 80 in a forwardposition where the lug 8| isl adjacent the bottom edge of slot 84' whilewhich penetrates through and rides in elongated slot 9| formed in theframe 10. Thus, rack bar 88 is supported at one end through the yoke 89and pin 11, and at the other end by the lug 90 which rides in slot 9|.Coil spring 85 is hooked into an opening 33 in lug 90 so that it urgesrack bar 88 both rearwardly and downwardly. Formed on rack bar 88 is adog or detent 92 which engages the ratchet teeth of the hammer body aswill hereinafter be explained.

The hammer comprises a thumb piece 96 which assumes conventional formand `may be fabricated of plasticl or like material. It embraces themetal ratchet so that they jointly comprise a unitary hammer body.Ratchet 91 is formed with ratchet teeth 98 which are arcuately disposedand whichare engaged by the dog or detent 32 in arresting return of thehammer after cocking thereof and after each individual actuation of thetrigger.

Piston rod 63, after emerging-through cup 72, is bent downwardly andattened at its rearward end |88 where it is pivoted on eccentric pin IDIdisposed on ratchet 91. The ratchetl 91 of the hammer 95 Vis pivotallymounted'on pin 11. It will be recognized. therefore that the eccentricdisposition of pin 18| causes .piston rod 63 to be retracted as thehammer is retracted. Such retraction of piston rod 63 compresses pistonspring 84 against cup '|2 so as to prepare the piston for subsequentactuation and water discharge from the cylinder. It will be noted thatas hammer 95 is retracted to its full rearward position, as illustratedin Fig. 2, the dog 32 is brought into engagement with the last of theratchet teeth 98. This occurs because rack bar 88 is normally drivenrearwardly by spring 85 so that the dog 92 will be maintained inengagement with ratchet teeth 98 immediately after the' ratchet 91 comesto rest.

The operation of the water pistol may now be summarized. Starting fromthe uncooked position, illustrated in Fig. 1, the hammer is retracted bythe user so as to. cause the ratchet teeth 98 to move upwardly and thenbe engaged in cocked position by the dog 92 whichV has been impelledrearwardly through the action of spring 85. The cocked position isillustrated in Fig. 2 where lug 38 is in rearward position in slot 9|and the slot of yoke 89 is at its extreme rearward position so that itsbase embraces pin 11. At this time, it will be noted that pawl 85 isdirectly below the'rst tooth of rack bar teeth 81. During rearwardactuation or cooking of the hammer, the piston was retracted so as tocreate a suction in the cylinder. This unseated ball check valve 35against the action of spring 34 and drew up a charge of water fromreservoir I8 through intake tube 3| and through slot 44 into thecylinder chamber 43. Ball check Valve 53 was, of Course, seated in placeby action ofthe spring `52 scum the water could not be forced throughthe discharge outlet.

As a result, the charge chamber 43 becomes filled with water as thepis.-

Ytony retracto. The pistol is now ready for dis.- charge of the Water.

, Assuming now that the operator prefers to discharge the waterv incham-ber 43' in individual shots,` he will press his index lingeragainsty trigger piece 80. rThis actuates the arcuate slot 83 so thatthelug 82 reaches the bottom end theref of so as to effect a pivotalmovement of the trigger. The result of such action is to bring; thepawl- 86 into engagement with the rst tooth of rack teeth 3l. Thus, thearcuate slot 83'serves to elect engagement between the pawl and the rackbar teeth against the action of spring 85 which normally draws it out ofsuch engagement. When the trigger has reached the limit of its pivotalmovement through the restraining action of slot 83, it thereaftercancontinue in a substantially downward direction through `the action oflug 8i' in slot 8d. This' causes the patvl 86 to Yadvance the rack bar88' and, urges dog 92 `out of engagement with teeth 98. Dog 92 then`comes lto rest on the succeeding ratchet tooth. Meanwhile, the pistonhas been actuated forwardly one step. The ,pressureV upon the water incharge chamber d3 then unseats ball'check valve- 53 against the actionof spring 52 and electsl one-sixth of the water charge through 4nozzle51, thus concluding an individual shot. The operator havingv releasedthe trigger 80, spring 85 draws the pawl 8 out of engagement with. therack bar teeth, and the pistol may again be nred. This action may becontinued six times or until the dog 92 has reached the last tooth ofratchet teeth 9S andV the piston isl inextreme forward position havingejected all the: water in the charge chamber. The foregoing action maybe repeated in quick succession so= that the six shots are speedilyejected each time the trig gery is pulled back and released.

Assume now that the operator desires to: eject the entire charge in asingle stream; by the fanning action hereinabove described.. He firstpulls 'the trigger 80 back, in the position illustrated in Fig. l, sothat the pawl 85' engagesV the rear end or last tooth. of the` rack bar88 so as to prevent the rack bar from moving rearwardly through theaction of spring, 85 in the manner described for a single shot action.As,l a result, rack bar teeth 8l may not be thereafter successivelyengaged by pawl d. Then the hammer is retracted, charging the cylinder,with. the rack bar 88 maintained' forwardly so that dog 92 may not Eengage ratchet teeth 98. As. a result, there is nothing to preventimmediate return. of ratchet llll as impelled by the piston spring 64which was compressed by the rearward actuation oi the hammer ratchet 97.This. causes the piston to yforwardly andldischarge all of the water inchamber 43 in one stroke. The entire charge will be ejected throughnozzle 51: so as to rcsult in a heavy, drenching stream. This actionwill be most eiiectively performed by fanning the may be discharged insuccessive, discrete shots or in a full stream at the option of theuser. The functions of most of the elements of the trigger and cookingmechanism are generally multiple-in order to minimize the number ofelements and economize in the production and assembly of the waterpistol. Whereas the invention has been described with reference to a,water pistol, it. will be evident that the principles and constructionmay be applied to analogous devices or toys such as a water discharginglre engine or the like.

What is claimed is:

1. A water pistol comprising a body, a water chamber formed in saidbody, a charge cylinder in said body and communicating with saidchamber, a piston including a piston rod for applying pressure to acharge of water in said cylinder for discharging it therefrom, a springnormally urging said piston into forward or water discharged position, ahammer connected to said piston rod for retracting said piston againstthe action of said spring, said water pistol body being formed with apistol barrel, said cylinder being disposed in said barrel, an outletvalve disposed `forwardly of said cylinder Within said barrel, an intakevalve for charging said cylinder, a tube connecting said intake valvewith said water chamber, a hammer body on said hammer, said hammer bodybeing pivotally mounted Within said water pistol body, said piston rodbeing eccentrically connected to said hammer body and producing asubstantially linear movement of said piston when said hammer body ispivoted, and means including a trigger for advancing said piston indiscrete, predetermined steps so as to discharge predetermined, discretequantities of water from said charge cylinder.

2. A water pistol comprising a body, a charge cylinder in said body, apiston for applying pressure to a charge of water in said cylinder fordischarging it therefrom, a spring normally urging said' piston intoforward or water discharging position, a hammer including an upstandingthumbpiece thereon, said hammer being pivoted relative to said body andbeing pivotally attached to said piston for retracting said pistonagainst the action of said spring, a detent for maintaining said pistonand hammer in retracted position and means for .disabling the action ofsaid detent whereby said piston is free to return to water dischargingposition after retraction thereof.

3. A water pistol according .to claim 2 and including a trigger, saidvlast named means beingr *formed on said trigger.

4. A water pistol comprising a body, a water chamber formed in saidbody, a charge cylinder in said body and communicating with saidchamber, a piston including a piston rod in said body for applyingpressure to a charge of water in said cylinder for discharging ittherefrom, a spring bearing against said piston for normally urging itinto forward or Water discharging position, a hammer body connected tosaid piston rod for retracting said.piston against the action of saidspring, a frame member in said body, an arm having rack teeth and havinga detent, said arm being slidably supported against said frame member,ratchet teeth formed peripherallyof said hammer and adapted to beengaged by said detent for maintaining said piston in retractedposition, a, trigger extending from said body and having a pawl forengaging said rack teeth and actuating said arm so as to release saiddetent from said ratchet teeth, and a second spring for urging said armand said detent into engagement gevegt@ with said ratchet teeth, saidsecondl spring being connected to said trigger for normally maintainingit out of engagement with said arm rack teeth.

5. A water pistol comprising a body including a barrel, a watel` chamberformed in said body, a charge cylinder in said barrel, a tubular conduitextending from said chamber, valve means connecting said charge cylinderwith said tubular conduit, a piston including a piston rod in said bodyfor applying pressure to a charge of water in said cylinder, outletvalve means for effecting discharge of said water from said cylinder, acoil spring in said barrel and around saidpiston rod and bearing againstsaid piston for normally urging it into forward or water dischargingposition in said barrel, a hammer pivoted relative to said body, saidpiston rod being eccentrically connected to said hammer for retractingsaid piston against the action of said spring as said hammer is pivoted,ratchet teeth formed on said hammer, a detent for engaging said ratchetteeth so as to maintain said piston in retracted position, a framewithin said body, a trigger pivotally connected to said frame, a pawl onsaid trigger for successively releasing said ratchet teeth from saiddetent at each reciprocation of said trigger, and a seat for said springwithin said barrel and connected to said frame.

6. A water pistol comprising a body, a charge cylinder in said body, apiston in said body'including a piston rod for applying pressure toacharge of water in said cylinder for discharging it therefrom, a rstspring bearing against said piston for urging it into extreme forward orcomplete water` discharging position in said cylinder, a movable hammerconnected to said piston rod for cooking the piston in retractedposition in said cylinder against the action of said spring, a ratchethaving teeth formed on said hammer and movable therewith, an arm in saidbody including a detent for engaging said ratchet teeth to maintain saidpiston in retracted position, a second spring connected to said arm forurging said detent into engagement with successive ratchet teeth as saidhammer is moved, a reciprocating trigger extending from said body, rackteeth on said arm and adapted to be engaged by said trigger at eachreciprocation of said trigger for actuating said arm against the actionof said second spring so as to move said detent out of contact withsuccessive ratchet teeth as said trigger is reciprocated whereby saidfirst spring is permitted to advance said piston together with saidhammer and ratchet teeth for discharging the water in said cylinder indiscrete steps, and whereby said second spring urges said detent intoengagement with successive ratchet teeth.

'7. A water pistol according to claim 6 and including a pawl on saidtrigger for engaging said rack teeth and actuating said arm as saidtrigger is reciprocated.

8. A water pistol according to claim 7 and wherein said second springwhich is connected to said arm is also connected to said trigger at anopposite end of the spring for normally maintaining said pawl out ofcontact with said rack teeth.

9. A water pistol according to claim 8 and wherein said hammer ispivoted within and in respect to said body, said piston rod beingeccentrically connected to said hammer whereby pivoting of said hammerretracts said piston rod and piston.

10. A water pistol comprising a body, a Water chamber formed rearwardlyof said body, a charge Icylinder'forwardly of said body andcommunicating with said chamber, a piston in said body including apiston rod for applying pressure to a charge of water in said cylinderfor discharging it therefrom, a spring bearing against said piston fornormally urging it into forward or water discharging position, a hammerincluding an arcuate, pivoted hammer body connected to said piston rodfor retracting said piston against the action of said spring, a framemember in said body, an arm having rack teeth and having a detent, saidarm being slidably supported against said frame member, ratchet teethformed peripherally of said hammer body so as to be arcuately arranged,said ratchet teeth being adapted to be engaged by said detent formaintaining said piston in retracted position, a trigger extending fromsaid body and having a pawl for engaging said rack teeth and actuatingsaid arm so as to release said detent from said ratchet teeth, and asecond spring for urging said arm and said detent into engagement withsaid ratchet teeth.

11. A water pistol comprising a body including a pistol barrel, a chargecylinder in said barrel, a normally spring closed outlet Valve disposedforwardly of said cylinder, a piston in said barrel for applyingpressure to a charge of water in said cylinder when forwardly impelledfor discharging it through said outlet valve, a rear water chamberformed in said body, means including an intake valve means forming anairtight path between, and disposed between, the forepart of saidcylinder and said water chamber when said outlet valve is closed and thepiston is retracted whereby retraction of said piston draws waterthrough said intake valve and charges said cylinder, a, piston springbearing against said piston for normally urging it into forward orcomplete water discharging position, a hammer pivoted relative to saidbody and including an upstanding thumbpiece, said hammer being pivotallyconnected to said piston for retracting Said piston against the actionof said piston spring when the hammer is pivoted, a detent in said bodyfor automatically maintaining said piston in retracted position byengaging said hammer and a trigger extending from the body and beingadapted to prevent suchV engagement whereby said piston may freelyreturn to forward or complete water discharging position afterretraction thereof.

12. A water pistol comprising a body including a pistol barrel, a chargecylinder in said barrel, a normally spring closed outlet valve disposedforwardly of said cylinder, a piston in said barrel for applyingpressure to a charge of water in said cylinder when forwardly impelledfor discharging it through said outlet Valve, a rear water chamberformed in said body, means including an intake valve forming an airtightpath between, and disposed between, the forepart of said cylinder andsaid water chamber when said outlet valve is closed and the piston isretracted whereby retraction of said piston draws water through saidintake valve and charges said cylinder, a piston spring bearing againstsaid piston for normally urging it into forward or complete Water discharging position, a hammer pivoted relative to said body and includingan upstanding thumbpiece, said hammer being pivotally connected to saidpiston for retracting said piston against the action of said pistonspring when the hammer is pivoted, a detent in said body forautomatically maintaining said piston in retracted position by engagingsaid hammer and a trigger pivoted in respect to said body, said triggerbeing adapted to prevent such engagement whereby said piston may freelyreturn to forward or complete water discharging position afterretraction thereof, ratchet teeth formed peripherally on said harnmer, afixed frame within said body, an arm slidably mounted adjacent and inrespect to said frame, said detent being formed on said arm for engagingsaid ratchet teeth and maintaining said piston in retracted position,rack teeth formed on said arm, a pawl formed on said trigger so as to beactuated when the trigger is pivoted, said pawl being adapted to engagesaid rack teeth and slide said arm and detent out of engagement withsaid ratchet teeth when the trigger is pivoted to actuate said pawl, andspring means in said body for urging said detent into engagement withsaid ratchet teeth and for urging said pawl out of contact with saidrack teeth.

13. A water pistol according to claim 12 and including a, pair of lugsformed on said frame and disposed in openings on said trigger forpivotally suspending said trigger, one of said openings being arcuateand limiting initial pivoting action of said trigger until said pawlengages one of said 10 rack teeth and the other opening permitting finalmovement of said trigger for actuating said arm against the action ofsaid spring means.

14. A water pistol according to claim 13 and including a channel sectionintegral with said frame, said channel section extending into saidbarrel and Supporting said piston rod within its channel, and supportingsaid piston urging spring around the outside of said channel section.

WESLEY C. CASSON.

REFERENCES CITED Thomas July 31, 1923 DOrph Jan. 5, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTSCountry Date Great Britain July 18, 1935 Number Number

